What Is Tonsillitis and How to Get It Treated? Ever woken up in the morning with a piercing pain in your throat? You are most likely suffering from tonsillitis. Tonsillitis is a very common medical condition that is caused due to inflammation of the tonsils. Tonsils are two oval shaped pads that are located at the back of your throat. Their main function is to protect your body from ingested or inhaled germs. Along with the pinching pain in the throat, tonsillitis is also accompanied by fever and sore throat.
In most cases, tonsillitis clears up within a week when treated with antibiotics. However, in some people tonsillitis can be persistent and cause a lot of trouble. Persistent or chronic tonsillitis is more common among children and young adults. In such cases, one must seek medical assistance from an ENT specialist who would recommend several alternative courses of treatment for a permanent cure.
Treatment options for Tonsillitis:1. Self-help:- If the pain in your throat is only causing minor discomfort, you can treat it easily though over the counter medications. Mild cases of tonsillitis can clear up without any treatment. To relieve the painful symptoms such as sore throat and headache, you can take painkillers such as paracetamol or ibuprofen which is easily available at your local pharmacy. 2. Antibiotics: - Maximum tonsillitis cases are caused due to bacterial infections. Only in certain rare cases it is caused due to an underlying medical condition. Before treating you with antibiotics, the doctor will do a preliminary throat swab test to confirm the bacterial infection. If the test comes out positive you will be put on a 10 day course of antibiotics. It is every important to follow through the entire course of antibiotics or it may lead to relapse. 3. Tonsillectomy: - The surgical procedure to remove the defective tonsils is known as tonsillectomy. It is only recommended by the doctor if the frequent episodes of tonsillitis is hampering your daily life. Tonsillectomy is a minor surgical procedure where no incisions are made on the skin. You will recover from the surgery within a few days.